News

2010-12-01 16:46:22.82

Dixon Woman Cashes In On Feeling

It’ll be a good Christmas for one Dixon family. While doing some grocery shopping for her mother on Nov. 28, Heather Wagoner “got a feeling” and decided to spend $5 on Missouri Lottery Scratchers tickets. One of the $2 “Frosty Fortune” Scratchers tickets she bought at Country Mart, 508 E. Fifth Street in Dixon, turned out to be a $10,000 winner.

“(The) feeling hit me, and I walked out the door. I had a $5 bill in my hand. I put it in the machine and bought $5 worth of tickets and won!” exclaimed Wagoner.

“I play a lot, but only when the feeling hits me, and then I win,” she continued.

Wagoner hedged somewhat, explaining that the most she had won in the past was $100. When she discovered the $10,000 prize while sitting in the parking lot, it registered as her largest win to date.

“It was exciting,” she recounted. “I couldn’t even hardly drive, I was shaking so bad.”

Wagoner, 39, was accompanied to Jefferson City by her daughter, Shanna, and a friend, April, to collect the prize on Nov. 29. Shanna was excited about potential Christmas presents she and her brother, Ethan, might receive.

“I’m going to buy Christmas for my kids,” Wagoner said. “They’re going to get new guns and new boots.” She added that she would buy new eyeglasses for herself. A large part of the prize money will go toward paying bills.

“I usually don’t spend money on tickets unless I got a feeling. I can’t explain it. And when I have that feeling, I’ll put it in. Especially at times when I really need money, that’s when it comes through,” Wagoner explained.

Wagoner said she’ll continue to play the Lottery. She has been saving her non-winning tickets for the Missouri Lottery “Hi-Tech Holiday” second-chance promotion.

“It’s luck of the draw, I mean really, whether you have a feeling or not. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. If I hadn’t had to go to the grocery store for my mom, I probably wouldn’t have won,” Wagoner suggested.

She added that her mom would get a nice Christmas gift as well.

“Frosty Fortune” is a $2 game that officially began on Oct. 23. The game features a top prize of $25,000, of which, six remain. Non-winning “Frosty Fortune” tickets are eligible for entry in the “Hi-Tech Holiday” second chance promotion.